Vol. 75/No. 23      June 13, 2011

Among those represented by Weinglass were the Chicago Seven defendants charged with disrupting the Democratic Party convention in 1968; Mumia Abu-Jamal; Puerto Rican activists targeted for supporting independence; anti-Vietnam War protesters; and many others.

Up until a weeks days before his death, Weinglass was working on defense briefs on behalf of the Cuban Five for whom he was lead attorney and spokesperson in the appeals court fight to win their freedom.

The meeting was chaired by Michael and Debby Smith, long-time friends of Weinglass; Scott Franzblau, his nephew; and Kathy Boudin, daughter of prominent civil liberties attorney Leonard Boudin. She was released on parole in 2003 after serving 22 years in prison on charges stemming from an attempted heist of a Brink’s truck and murder of a guard. Weinglass was her defense attorney.

Speaking at the meeting were colleagues of Weinglass and people he represented, including Ramsey Clark, Tom Hayden, John Gerassi, Martin Garbus, Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer, and Linda Backiel.

In a video tribute, Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, described Weinglass’s collaboration in defending the five Cuban patriots who came to the United States to help expose plans by counterrevolutionary Cubans living here to attack targets in Cuba.

Another video featured Daniel Ellsberg, whom Weinglass defended. Ellsberg was charged by the U.S. government for leaking the “Pentagon Papers,” which exposed government lies rationalizing the imperialist war against the Vietnamese people. A highlight of the program was a videotaped interview with Weinglass describing the Pentagon Papers case.

Another of Weinglass’s victories was the successful defense of the “Los Angeles Eight” activists who supported the Palestinian people’s fight against Israeli oppression.

At the time of his death, in addition to his work on the appeal of the Cuban Five, he had begun to organize defense efforts for Julian Assange. Assange was threatened with U.S. government charges as a leader of “Wikileaks,” which released thousands of U.S. government communiqués about its operations around the world.

Weinglass was for many years associated with the firm of Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky and Lieberman. Weinglass made himself available for consultation on the successful Socialist Workers Party lawsuit challenging decades of government spying and disruption against the party, and reviewed the appeal of the frame-up conviction of Iowa packinghouse worker and SWP member Mark Curtis.  
 
 
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